Why Kerry's Secret Talks Failed and What Will Work

Again Gaza violence! But were not Kerry's 9 month's secret peace talks expected to put an end to the Middle East Conflict?

It was obvious from the start that they could not. The talks were between the wrong parties, because neither of them was in a position to end the conflict.

But then, why the talks?

Because of the widespread belief that the conflict is between the Palestinian Authority, or Hamas, and the Israeli government, and hence by reaching an agreement between these "parties" it is possible to resolve the conflict.

But, neither the Palestinian Authority, nor Hamas, nor the Israeli government have the powers and the ability to end this conflict. This is because, if the Israeli government tells to the Israelis, "Lets us dismantle the State of Israel and go back to the countries we came from", it will not be followed. And, in the same way, if a Palestinian group leader tells to the Palestinians, "let us stop the resistance, and accept the expulsion from Palestine, and the Israeli occupation", he will not be followed.

So, as long as this conflict is seen as a conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian "leaderships", there will be no solution to this conflict.

Then how can it be resolved?

To answer that question one first needs to understand what are the causes of this conflict.

In fact there are two conflicts: (1) the conflict arising from the expulsion of Palestinians from the Coastal Palestine in 1948, and (2) the conflict arising from the occupation of the West Bank by Israel in 1967.

Both of these acts are "illegal" under the modern international law, and there are UN resolutions confirming the illegality of these acts and calling for return, or compensation, of the 1948 Palestinian refugees and withdrawal of the occupying forces from the land occupied in 1967. But these resolutions had not been implemented and this has led to the rise of the various Palestinian organizations "fighting" for the "liberation of Palestine", like FaTaH, and Hamas.

And until the Palestinians (and their descendants) expelled in 1948 are compensated for the injustice caused to them by this expulsion, and the land occupied in 1967 is either vacated by Israel, or purchased from the Palestinians, the conflict will continue.

But, if these causes are acknowledged and their consequences are dealt with, then the conflict will end.

And the easiest and cheapest way to achieve that is for the USA (with possible European assistance and under the auspices of the UN) to compensate all the Palestinians for the injustices caused to them by the creation of the State of Israel in Palestine, and to resettle them all in the USA.